USF Alumna Stays Alive in 'The Amazing Race'

11-16-2011

Jeremy Cline (right) and Sandy Draghi ’99, MSN ’05 are among the final five teams of "The Amazing Race."

One-time Dons soccer player Sandy Draghi ’99, MSN ’05 and her
boyfriend, Jeremy Cline, recently pulled out not one but two dramatic comebacks
to make it into the final five teams of CBS’s "The Amazing Race."

Drag and Cline, a couple for six months when the show began
filming this summer, recovered from poor navigation in Denmark to edge out father-and-son
team Laurence and Zac at the finish line and remain in the race on the Nov. 12
episode. It was a similar story for the couple a week earlier in Malawi when
they had trouble finding a designated check-in, the Jamaica Shop.

“Not eating and sleeping enough wears you down; it really
does,” said Draghi in an interview after the Nov. 12 finish, referring to the
tough, competitive nature of the race. “It reminds me of finals in grad
school.”

Draghi and Cline are competing against other teams of two,
all of whom are trying to avoid arriving last at “pit stops” and being
eliminated as they race around the world — stopping in countries such as China,
Indonesia, and Thailand. The race winners take home a $1 million grand prize.

Back at home in Danville,
Draghi is a nurse at Blackhawk Plastic Surgery.
Her ability to focus for hours in the operating room and her athleticism, dating
from her time with the USF Women’s Soccer Team and before, are among her key
assets, Draghi said. Athleticism, from his days on his high school swim team
and, more recently, organized basketball, is also an asset for Cline.

Their challenge, on the other hand, is communicating better and
working together under pressure, issues they have revisited in interviews more
than a few times on the show. Before joining The Amazing Race, the couple had
little experience traveling together.

USFers interested in cheering on Draghi and Cline can follow
them on Facebook and Twitter.